Plasmonic Annular Nanotrenches with 1 nm Nanogaps for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Using SERS-Based Immunoassay.

This study represents the synthesis of a novel class of nanoparticles denoted as annular Au nanotrenches (AANTs). AANTs are engineered to possess embedded, narrow circular nanogaps with dimensions of approximately 1 nm, facilitating near-field focusing for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) via a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based immunoassay. Notably, AANTs exhibited an exceedingly low limit of detection (LOD) of 1 fg/mL for SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins, surpassing the commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) by 6 orders of magnitude (1 ng/mL from ELISA). To assess the real-world applicability, a study was conducted on 50 clinical samples using an SERS-based immunoassay with AANTs. The results revealed a sensitivity of 96% and a selectivity of 100%, demonstrating the significantly enhanced sensing capabilities of the proposed approach in comparison to ELISA and commercial lateral flow assay kits.

Case of Human Orthohantavirus Infection, Michigan, USA, 2021.

Orthohantaviruses cause hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome; most cases occur in the southwest region of the United States. We discuss a clinical case of orthohantavirus infection in a 65-year-old woman in Michigan and the phylogeographic link of partial viral fragments from the patient and rodents captured near the presumed site of infection.

VirPipe: an easy-to-use and customizable pipeline for detecting viral genomes from Nanopore sequencing.

Detection and analysis of viral genomes with Nanopore sequencing has shown great promise in the surveillance of pathogen outbreaks. However, the number of virus detection pipelines supporting Nanopore sequencing is very limited. Here, we present VirPipe, a new pipeline for the detection of viral genomes from Nanopore or Illumina sequencing input featuring streamlined installation and customization. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: VirPipe source code and documentation are freely available for download at https://github.com/KijinKims/VirPipe, implemented in Python and Nextflow.

Significance of LED lights in enhancing the production of vinegar using Acetobacter pasteurianus AP01.

Vinegar is a common food additive produced by acetic acid bacteria (AAB) during fermentation process. Low yield and long incubation time in conventional vinegar fermentation processes has inspired research in developing efficient fermentation techniques by the activation of AAB for acetic acid production. The present study intends to enhance vinegar production using acetic acid bacteria and light emitting diode (LED). A total of eight acetic acid bacteria were isolated from Korean traditional vinegar and assessed for vinegar production. Isolate AP01 exhibited maximum vinegar production and was identified as Acetobacter pasteurianus based on the 16S rRNA sequences. The optimum fermentation conditions for the isolate AP01 was incubation under static condition at 30 °C for 10 days with 6% initial ethanol concentration. Fermentation under red LED light exhibited maximum vinegar production (3.6%) compared to green (3.5%), blue (3.2%), white (2.2%), and non-LED lights (3.0%). Vinegar produced using red LED showed less toxicity to mouse macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) and high inhibitory effects on nitric oxide and IL-6 production. The results confirmed that red LED light could be used to increase the yield and decrease incubation time in vinegar fermentation process.

Effectiveness of a community-based integrated service model for older adults living alone: A nonrandomized prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: Older adults living alone face physical, emotional, and social health problems, and prefer to age in place (AIP) in their homes. A community-based integrated model for AIP is needed and few studies have identified its impact on older adults living alone. METHODS: This was a non-randomized prospective study. Participants were 877 community-dwelling older adults living alone, aged above 65 years, in S* city in South Korea. The intervention group (n = 331) received a community-based integrated service (CBIS) model based on AIP for six months from October 2019 to April 2020. RESULTS: Scores on frailty (ß = -0.377, p < .001), loneliness (ß = -1.897, p = .018), and health-related quality of life (ß = 4.299, p = .021) significantly improved in the intervention group. Among the intervention group, loneliness scores significantly improved among participants aged under 80 years than those aged over 80 years. CONCLUSION: The CBIS model improved frailty, loneliness, and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults living alone.

High-throughput investigation of transglutaminase 2 kinase regulation using a novel cysteine-modified peptide array.

Transglutaminase 2 (TGase2) kinase has emerged as an important regulator of apoptosis as well as chromatin structure and function; however, details about the pathophysiological functions of TGase2 kinase have been limited because of the lack of a suitable activity assay for systematic investigation of TGase2 kinase regulation in a high-throughput manner. Thus, we developed a novel on-chip TGase2 kinase activity assay using a cysteine-modified insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3-derived peptide (CMI peptide) on an array platform. This peptide array-based activity assay was reproducible, with a detection limit of 2.127 µg/ml. We successfully applied this assay to investigate the effects of thiol-reactive compounds and divalent cations on TGase2 kinase by determining the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50). Thiol-reactive compounds inhibited TGase2 kinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner, with IC50 values ranging from 0.125 to 5.550 mM. Divalent metal cations also showed a concentration-dependent inhibition, with IC50 values ranging from 0.005 to 1.937 mM; however, Ca2+ had no effect on TGase2 kinase activity. Thus, this novel kinase activity assay using the CMI peptide array described here is suitable for systematic investigation of TGase2 kinase regulation and may be useful for investigating the roles of TGase2 kinase in pathogenesis of kinase-mediated diseases.

Malnutrition and its associated factors among community-dwelling older men living alone.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Older men who live alone are more vulnerable to poor nutrition. However, little attention has been paid to malnutrition among this population. This study aimed to examine malnutrition and its associated factors among community-dwelling older men living alone. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study used cohort data of community-dwelling older adults living alone in South Korea. A total of 230 older men aged 65 and over were included in this study. Nutritional status was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form. Multidimensional factors (sociodemographic, health-related, psychosocial, and lifestyle characteristics) were evaluated. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the malnutrition-related factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition was 32.2% in older men living alone. Low income (odds ratio [OR], 2.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-5.90), polypharmacy (OR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.16-4.28), suicidal ideation (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.02-4.45), meal skipping (OR, 3.26; 95% CI, 1.60-6.64), and smoking (OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.43-5.73) were significantly associated with malnutrition. CONCLUSION: Malnutrition is a severe health problem in older men living alone. This study highlights the importance of comprehensive and tailored interventions to mitigate malnutrition among older men living alone.

Etiological agent and clinical characteristics of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in the southern Republic of Korea: a genomic surveillance study.

OBJECTIVES: High incidences of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) have been reported in the southern Republic of Korea (ROK). A distinct southern genotype of Orthohantavirus hantanense (HTNV) was identified in Apodemus agrarius chejuensis on Jeju Island. However, its association with HFRS cases in southern ROK remains elusive. We investigated the potential of the southern HTNV genotype as an etiological agent of HFRS. METHODS: Samples from 22 patients with HFRS and 193 small mammals were collected in the southern ROK. The clinical characteristics of patients infected with the southern HTNV genotype were analysed. Amplicon-based MinION sequencing was employed for southern HTNV from patients and rodents, facilitating subsequent analyses involving phylogenetics and genetic reassortment. RESULTS: High-throughput sequencing of HTNV exhibited higher coverage with a cycle of threshold value below 32, acquiring nearly whole-genome sequences from six patients with HFRS and seven A. agrarius samples. The phylogenetic pattern of patient-derived HTNV demonstrated genetic clustering with HTNV from Apodemus species on Jeju Island and the southern Korean peninsula, revealing genetic reassortment in a single clinical sample between the M and S segments. DISCUSSION: These findings imply that the southern HTNV genotype has the potential to induce HFRS in humans. The phylogenetic inference demonstrates the diverse and dynamic characteristics of the southern HTNV tripartite genomes. Therefore, this study highlights the significance of active surveillance and amplicon sequencing for detecting orthohantavirus infections. It also raises awareness and caution for physicians regarding the emergence of a southern HTNV genotype as a cause of HFRS in the ROK.

Wireless Inchworm-like Compact Soft Robot by Induction Heating of Magnetic Composite.

Microrobots and nanorobots have been produced with various nature-inspired soft materials and operating mechanisms. However, freely operating a wirelessly miniaturized soft robot remains a challenge. In this study, a wireless crawling compact soft robot using induction heating was developed. The magnetic composite heater built into the robot was heated wirelessly via induction heating, causing a phase change in the working fluid surrounding the heater. The pressure generated from the evaporated fluid induces the bending of the robot, which is composed of elastomers. During one cycle of bending by heating and shrinking by cooling, the difference in the frictional force between the two legs of the robot causes it to move forward. This robot moved 7240 µm, representing 103% of its body length, over nine repetitions. Because the robot's surface is made of biocompatible materials, it offers new possibilities for a soft exploratory microrobot that can be used inside a living body or in a narrow pipe.

Effect of fermentation on antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-Helicobacter pylori adhesion activity of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark.

The limited yield of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark (URB) extract is considered an economic loss to the food industry. Improving extraction yield and bioactivity through fermentation increase the industrial usage of URB. The study aims to optimize the fermentation with cellulolytic and pectinolytic bacteria and evaluate the bioactivity and anti-Helicobacter pylori activity of the fermented URB extract. URB fermentation with the Bacillus licheniformis FLa3, isolated from salted seafood (Sardinella zunasi), under optimal conditions (37 °C, pH 6, 10% inoculum dose, and 36 h) improved the extraction yield by 36% compared to the control. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the fermented extract were significantly higher than non-fermented extract. High-performance liquid chromatography results confirmed that the fermentation increased the proportion of bioactive components such as catechin (171.7%), epicatechin (144.3%), quercetin (27.3%), and kaempferol (16.7%). The results confirmed that the fermentation increased both the extraction yield and bioactivity.